Going to a Mosque for the first time, what should I do?

Question

I plan on going to a Mosque before the end of the month to officially convert to Islam. What should I do when I get there? Who do I talk to? And how long will it take? My parents probably won't want to stay, so I can tell them that they can go to a nearby mall and pick me up when I'm done. I'm a little nervous.

Answer 1

Congratulations brother :))) You should be SOO proud of yourself as much as I'm proud of you :)

1- First of all, before you enter the mosque, make sure that you have washed (wudoo') - you know - the type of washing we do before we pray. If you don't know how to do it, ask any Muslim to tell you how or simply look it up in an Islamic book that describes the basics of Muslim praying.

2- Say this prayer upon entering the mosque:

'I take refuge with Allah, The Supreme and with His Noble Face, and His eternal authority from the accursed devil. In the name of Allah, and prayers and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah. O Allah, open the gates of Your mercy for me.'

3- Go to the Imam and tell him that you want to take the Shahada (a phrase you say that makes your conversion to Islam official in front of God and everyone). You should say:

'I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah and i bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.' (So in Arabic, it is: Ash-hadu ana la ellaha ela Allah wa ash-hadu ana Muhammad rasool Allah)

4- Tell him that you wanna do the prayers that you should do upon entering the mosque and he'll tell you the way.

The Imam should guide you on everything and would answer all your queries.

5- Upon leaving the mosque, say:

'In the name of Allah, and prayers and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah. O Allah, i ask You from Your favour. O Allah, guard me from the accursed devil.'


Welcome to Islam brother :)))

Answer 2

Hey, bud. Probably your safest bet would be to make some sort of contact with the local muslim community beforehand. Look and see if the mosque has a website with a way to either contact the Imam or the members of the mosque board. If not, and if your city has a college, you might look on the college's website to see if there is an area chapter of the Muslim Students' Association. In fact, this might be your best bet as the younger generation tends to have bit more zeal for their faith and a greater desire to share it. Also, it would put you in contact with other people closer to your age.

I don't know how long it will take, as it varies from person to person, and usually folks want to talk to you first and make sure you know what you're getting yourself into. You may not give your shahada the first time you visit. That said, you really ought to find a way to get at least one of your parents to stay with you. I know this feels like it's just your decision regardless of how they feel, but they are your parents and you ought to include them no matter how they feel about it. See if you can get at least one of them to stay with you. Tell them that it's important to you, that you know it's strange for them, but you want to be open with them about all of your life. Trust me, it will make things a lot easier as time goes by.

That said, I was a muslim for ten years. Think really hard on this, because I'd hate for you to go through some of the things I did.

No matter what you decide, take care, and good luck.

Laz

Answer 3

Wow! Congratulations! Well, as far as your parents go, you should invite them in. They may be reluctant, but it would certainly help to cast away any misconceptions they may have about Islam by witnessing Muslims in action.
When you go, just ask for the imam and inform him of your decision. He will let you know everything you should do. He may want to take you out in front of the congregation to make your testament of faith, but if you are nervous about being in front of crowds, let him know ahead of time. After all, God is the only witness you need for your declaration of faith. I never did mine at the mosque, I did it at home with close friends, but typically you will state the shahadah, make ablution (cleansing ritual) and depending on the time, probably pray your first prayer with the Muslims. Don't worry if you haven't learned that part yet, it will come in time. That usually does it!

Good luck and congratulations on making such a mature decision!

Answer 4

My dear brother in faith this an excellent step u are taking to God... when i conveted two years ago i was scared i was only 17 but i went to the women section of the mosque and explained to a women that i wanted to convert and she explained all the steps that i need to tke and got the imam for me to begin. i will say however do not delay untill the end of the month allah says in the quran do not die in any state other then islam.

my friend u shoc bear witness taht there is no god but Allah and that prophet mohamed is the last and final prophet of Allah. so at least u r a muslim and the go to the mosque and do it with witness may Allah guide u and keep u in firm belief of islam amin

Answer 5

Mashallah......ok don't freak........The best time to go is on Fridays/Jummah.........this is the day in which Muslims gather in the mosque to listen to an Islamic lecture so many people will be there and it will be a nice way to get to know about the religion because you will have so many people to talk to and they I'm sure will be willing to answer your questions.........upon arrival just ask for an imam (leader) or the president whoever is in charge......explain your situation..........I would like to convert to Islam etc.
All you have to do is recite the Shahadah which is the first pillar of Islam............It states that "I bear witness that there is no GOD, but GOD and I bear witness that Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is GOD's messenger......in Arabic this is Ashadu an la ilaha illalahu wahda hu la sharika la hu wa ashadu anna muhammadan abdu hu wa rusuluhu ( Someone will probably ask you to recite after them in the mosque)...............also don't do it by yourself because there needs to be atleast three witnesses when you are converting so it's always best to do it in a Mosque..........and DON't be NERVOUS..........I'm sure the people in the mosque will be delighted to hear you want to convert and I'm sure your parents will eventuallay understand...........It's great to hear that you want to convert........Welcome to Islam..........I suggest sites such islamtoday.com where you will find accurate and true information on Islam...........also if you have any Muslim friends or simply spending some time in the mosque and asking questions will help..........The QUR'an which is the holy book in Islam like the Bible in Christianity acts like a guideline to the religion............GOOD LUCK!:)

Answer 6

dont listen to ayone here thats trying to make you change your mind. theyre just ignorant people.
anyway, the people there will be friendly so you can ask them any questions you may have. i am not sure what has to specifically done to finish your conversion, but people at the mosque should know. if you want to, tell your parents that this is an important time in your life and they should be by your side. good luck

Answer 7

take off your shoes,u cant wear it inside mosque.tell them that u wanna meet the leader or imam of that mosque n your mission u go there.they will help u step by step.it will take around 15mins but all depend on u.once u get there your nervous will b gone

Answer 8

May Allah help you and grant you strenght. Once you get there you should meet with the imaam and let him know of your intention. you can ask anyone in the masjid about the imam. but before converting are you completely ready?

Answer 9

ay ay ay, es un bueno dia para ti!
primero quito los zapatos
entonces dice hola a todas las personas
pide las otras personas para ayudar
disfrutar de experienca!

(thatll be a good day for you! first take off your shoes, then say hi to everybody, and ask other people if you need help. enjoy your experince!)

Answer 10

you're converting to islaam? wow.

i think you should reconsider doing this. 'm not saying islaam is bad, i'm just saying, it's going to be a hard and long and tiring process after a while. although all you have to do is take shahadah, you also have to do a lot more.. you have to pray 5 times a day, and do this and that. it will be very hard.

i think you should re consider. reread the Bible.. or check out answering-islam.org or faithfreedom.org ... those are both great sites from ex muslims and such. i know a person who converted to islaam and went to universities and preached how much he hated christianity, and he was on several anti christian boards writing articles.. yet he ended up coming back to christianity. i also, the main guy from answering christianity [an islamic site] converted to christiantiy!!!

well, i respect your right to choose, but please don't be a shariah fanatic. please don't try to kill homosexuals, and kill non muslims and such.

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